Container with snap-in plastic nozzle



Aug. 16, 1966 R. s. SCHULTZ 3,266,582

CONTAINER WITH SNAP-IN PLASTIC NOZZLE Original Filed Oct. 10, 1962 V Z27 Z/i 22a, 277 Z29 Z7} INVENTOR.

Balsa/er 575%? 509% 7'2 United States Patent M CONTAINER WITH SNAP-IN PLASTIC NOZZLE Robert Stephen Schultz, Somerville, N.J., assignor to American Can Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Original application Oct. 10, 1962, Ser. No. 229,675, now Patent No. 3,231,156, dated Jan. 25, 1966. Divided and this application Nov. 16, 1965, Ser. No. 508,063

2 Claims. (Cl. 222-570) This application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 229,675, now Patent No. 3,231,156 of January 25, 1966, which in turn is a continuation-in-part of Serial No. 860,402, filed December 18, 1959, now abandoned.

This invention relates to containers including snap-in plastic nozzles and especially to collapsible containers of soft metal provided with nozzle inserts of slightly flexible thermoplastic material.

For certain purposes it is desirable to provide metal collapsible containers in which the nozzles are of other materials, especially where the product to be dispensed is a paste composed of ingredients which may pick up an objectionable color or cast from metal as it is extruded through the neck, or where the neck is used as an applicator for depositing the product on a body part as in the case of an eye ointment.

Such nozzles have been effectively constructed by molding them of plastic material with a flange at the base, placing the flange in a suitable prepared seat on the container, and then swaging or spinning portions of the container metal into locking position about the flange to hold While the results of this procedure the nozzle in place. are effective insofar as the container produced is concerned, the extra mechanical operations required to assemble the parts are rather expensive and methods have been sought to avoid this.

The present invention has 'for its object the provision of a combination between a container and a plastic nozzle therefor so arranged that the nozzle can be readily snapped into place from the exterior of the container with merely a straight pushing action on one end of the nozzle structure, but which still provides an adequately firm connection between the container and nozzle for all purposes.

It is a feature of the present invention that the nozzle is provided with threads to receive the threads of the cap which is used to seal it, and the container body part and the nozzle part are provided with an improved mechanical interlock which precludes nozzle rotation so that the latter cannot interfere with removal of a tight cap.

It is a further feature of the invention that the mechanical interlock design employed is one which is not only readily mold-able on the plastic nozzle part, but is also readily obtainable on the container body part simultaneously with the impact extrusion step commonly used to construct collapsible metallic tubes.

Additional objects, features and advantages will appear hereinafter as the description proceeds.

Referring to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical section through the upper end portion of a container of the collapsible metal tube type showing the nozzle in finally assembled position on the container body; and

FIGURE 2 is a transverse section taken on line 22 of FIGURE 1.

Referring now to the drawings, the present invention is concerned with container 211 made up of two separate parts, which may be, but are not necessarily, of separate materials. In the form shown, the container body 213 is a collapsible metal tube such as are commonly manu- 3,2tt,t82 Patented August 16, 1966 factured by impact extrusion from lead, tin and aluminum. The container is completed by a nozzle insert 215 of relatively stiff, but somewhat resilient thermoplastic material, e.g. polyethylene, or other material having similar mechanical properties. As shown in FIG. 1, the body 213 has a conical breast 217 and an integrally formed unthreaded neck 219.

The nozzle 21 5 has a nose portion 227 including a threaded section 228, a main body portion 225 within the neck 219, and a flange 229 which is positioned between the main body portion 225 and the nose portion 227. The nozzle is also formed with an axially extending passageway 224 which extends the full length of the nozzle to permit dispensing of the container contents, the passageway 224 being sealed, when desired, by means of a sealing cap 226 which is shown in dot and dash lines in FIG. 1 and is threadedly secured at its bottom end onto the nozzle threads 228.

This invention is designed for connection of the nozzle to the container body by approach from the exterior of the container, and consequently the neck 219 includes an external lip ring or flange 220, while the nozzle flange 229 carries a cooperating resilient lock ring 230 designed to have an interference fit with the lip ring 220 and to snap thereover when the nozzle is pushed home. If desired the lock ring 230 may have an interior sloping surface 230' designed to aid in carnming it open during placement, and the bottom face of the nozzle body portion 225 may be tapered as at 231 to facilitate insertion of the nozzle into the neck 219.

It is desirable to secure the nozzle against any possible tendency to rotate if a tight fi-tting cap should be placed thereon. This result is achieved by non-circular interfitting parts on the main body portion 225 of the nozzle 2-15, and on the interior surface of the neck 219 of the container body 213. In the particular form shown there are molded on the exterior of the nozzle body portion 225, saw tooth flutes or serrations 235 designed to fit or mesh with internal saw tooth fiutes or serrations 237 formed in the inside wall of the container neck 21.9. If the container is impact extruded, these latter serrations 237 may be readily formed by properly shaping the female die of the extrusion pair.

The meshing serrations 235, 237 may be dimensioned to provide for tight, interlocking face-to-face engagement between them, or the inner serrations 235 may be made slightly undersized with respect to the surrounding serrations 237 to give a somewhat loose fit to provide a free meshing action without requiring pressure to effect the mashing fit.

It Will be noted that the arrangement of parts shown in the drawings is adaptable to various kinds of containers and is especially useful when the container is by its nature closed by a bottom or in cases where the bottom closure precedes nozzle attachment for any reason.

From the foregoing it can be seen that I have produced a novel container nozzle combination capable of ready assembly in a simple and practical snap-in fashion but which coincidentally insures that no problems from tight caps can arise .as a result of this type of assembly.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A container comprising an end member having a smooth-walled hollow upstanding neck with an outwardly projecting lip portion; a nozzle passing through said neck for dispensing product stored within the container, said nozzle being formed in one piece of resilient plastic material and including an elongate body member and a flange extending outwardly therefrom intermediate its ends and an interfering lock ring on said flange snapped over the exterior of the lip portion of said neck to retain the nozzle in assembled position on the container with one end of the nozzle body within the neck; and interlocking means formed on 'both the nozzle and neck to insure against relative rotation of the nozzle and the end member.

2. The container of claim 1 wherein said interlocking means comprises relatively fine and closely spaced matching preformed toothed serrations continuously extending around the interior of said neck and the exterior of said nozzle body for slida ole meshing engagement when the nozzle is being installed.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS ROBERT B. R'EEVES, Primary Examiner.

HADD S. LANE, Examiner. 

1. A CONTAINER COMPRISING AN END MEMBER HAVING A SMOOTH-WALLED HOLLOW UPSTANDING NECK WITH AN OUTWARDLY PROJECTING LIP PORTION; A NOZZLE PASSING THROUGH SAID NECK FOR DISPENSING PRODUCT STORED WITHIN THE CONTAINER, SAID NOZZLE BEING FORMED IN ONE PIECE OF RESILIENT PLASTIC MATERIAL AND INCLUDING AN ELONGATED BODY MEMBER AND A FLANGE EXTENDING OUTWARDLY THEREFROM INTERMEDIATE ITS ENDS AND AN INTERFERING LOCK RING ON SAID FLANGE SNAPPED OVER THE EXTERIOR OF THE LIP PORTION OF SAID NECK TO RETAIN THE NOZZLE IN ASSEMBLED POSITION ON THE CONTAINER WITH ONE END OF THE NOZZLE BODY WITHIN THE NECK; AND INTERLOCKING MEANS FORMED ON BOTH THE NOZZLE AND NECK TO INSURE AGAINST RELATIVE ROTATION OF THE NOZZLE AND THE END MEMBER. 